I was going through a Tjet review from some other forum and what followed after the review was a discussion on resale value which people think that Fiat cars don't have(and in that particular case Linea Tjet). A senior guy of that forum is a big basher of Fiat cars and he commented that he will post a detailed analysis and report regading resale value. NOW, following is a reply to him by one of the members, which I found to be very interesting, inspirational and amazing at the same time. He has put it in such simple words.......

"I dont know if am too old but to tell you a small story when I was a kid, i needed a cycle and the 2-3 options were a BSA SLR, BSA MAch-3 and Street Cat. The first cycle was a bland boring cycle, found every where and easy to repair etc. The Mach-3 was awesome, had bent handlebars and was cool to ride Joh Jeeta Wahi Sikandar style. The street cat was the best looking one and had a very famous ad if you remember it. "Boom boom shaka laka boom boom shak! Street Cat's gonna knock you back". My heart was set on a street cat and I would have made a compromise for a Mach. But my Dad bought me the BSA SLR (He could afford all three and the price difference wasnt too much either) stating that its lighter, will be easy to repair and blah blah. For 4 years I rode the cycle but I had no fun on it. The fun always came when I rode my neighbour's street cat. I hope you get the drift.

Now the choice is yours. Stats can show a lot of thing and stats can hide a lot of things. (Am a stats guy btw) You like something but you do all stats and get stuck to a car which you never wanted in the first place.

I would rather buy a car which I like and live with it and have a lower resale value at the end of it rather buy a car which I dont like, live through the agony and get a better resale value.

I guess there are a lot of guys like me who has been put in a box and told every thing about mileage, resale value etc when buying a car. BTW FIAT was never even in contention when I went to buy a car. The first thing I ever noticed about Fiat is that they sell out dated cars (credit to the team bhp PDI checklist!!
) before I even test drove one. I guess there will be a lot of people like me who like to have fun rather than do an excel analysis and find how much am spending on the car! So do I care about the resale value- not at the expense of the good time I can have!!

YES, What Fiat Need is 1.5 MJD, The performance would almost remain intact by this small reduction. If Fiat India is keen in setting-up the manufacturing for next bigger MJD, they should do 1.5Ltr. (Juvenile Tax rule would not change for some time I think).

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The one engine that I am often compelled to take note of is the one in Dacia (Mahindra) Logan's 1.5dci. Offering and commanding solid robustness and built quality for a category of variants from hatches to MPVs.

Considering the proven < 1.3 category feat due to Fiat's MJD tech, the 1.5mjd would make much more sense if they are to share again with Tata, Maruti/Suzuki and GM as such. History has it that Fiat had to sell off their baby, the common rail core technology to Bosch for lack of funds, one of the most regrettable tragedy the company ever faced IMHO. This time they better tread carefully considering the long term effects it can have on them in these tough markets.

Launching the < 1.5 category from India across the globe can be a step in the right direction for Fiat for the emerging markets of BRIC and or south east Asia to begin with.

It will also be interesting to know what Fiat has in the pipeline as far as new generation powertrains are concerned. Honda seems to have stepped in the right direction with the Honda NSX powertrain for hybrids.

The sooner the country moves towards hybrids (PHEVs) relying lesser on fossil fuels the better, considering the ambitious nuclear power grand plans for future energy needs of this country. The change is inevitable, from country's economy to ecology aspects. Smart grids for smart cars..quiet a leap in future..phew..!

BTW, do you think the decrease in cooling is also an impact of cars not having sun-films anymore? I've noticed that in my car where I've to bump up the AC speed to get the same cooling effect I used to get at lower speeds when using sun-films.

Yes, new Linea looks better than Pics, in flesh.
Bit Avventura looks better in Pics, than in flesh .

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I too felt the same when I visited the caffe on friday!
IMHO, the front part of the Avventura looks good, but the rear mounted spare wheel looks a little out of place.
Whereas the front grill of the new linea looks much better in person than in the pictures. But according to me, the old grill was still better.

Here is price and feature linea comparsion published on autocar. Fiat Linea really gives tough challenge to its competitors on price and features . Fiat have to improve its pre-sales and after-sales and make the competition more tougher. lets watch on sales figure ...:car

Let’s start with the prices. The top petrol Volkswagen Vento Highline trim costs Rs 8.95 lakh, while the diesel Vento Highline is priced at Rs 9.26 lakh. The top-spec Linea Emotion costs Rs 9.01 lakh for the petrol and Rs 9.72 lakh for the diesel. The Hyundai Verna top 1.6 SX (O) petrol trim costs Rs 9.42 lakh, while the diesel powered 1.6 SX (O) variant retails for Rs 10.71 lakh. The Honda City VX petrol manual is priced at Rs 9.75 lakh, while the diesel powered City VX is priced at Rs 10.89 lakh.The top Volkswagen Vento Highline trim comes equipped with rear AC vents, rear parking sensors, height adjustable driver's seat along with tilt and telescopic steering. On the exterior, it gets chrome on the front grille, trunk and on the front fog lamp surrounds. It also gets 15-inch alloy wheels, leather on the seat covers, gear knob and handbrake lever, a four-speaker audio system with aux-in, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, a multi-function steering wheel and electrically adjustable outside mirrors. On the safety front, it gets airbags for the driver and front passenger and ABS.The Fiat Linea Emotion comes equipped with a height adjustable driver’s seat, automatic climate control, cruise control, leather upholstery and chrome accents on the exterior. Additionally, it gets rear AC vents, a four-speaker music system with two tweeters and CD, MP3, USB, Bluetooth and aux-in compatibility, steering-mounted audio controls, reverse parking sensors and 16-inch alloy wheels shod with 205/55 section tubeless tyres. The new Fiat Linea also gets Microsoft’s ‘Blue & Me’ software that allows pairing of up to five mobile phones. For safety, it comes with dual-stage front airbags, and ABS.

The Honda City VX variant gets a four-speaker audio system with a five-inch screen, four tweeters and CD, MP3, aux-in, USB and Bluetooth compatibility, steering-mounted controls and height adjustable driver’s seat. It also comes with a rear camera with three view options (Wide, Normal and a Top-down view), 15-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, electrically folding wing mirrors with turn indicators, cruise control and rear AC vents. Additionally, it gets an electric sunroof, leather upholstery and an engine start-stop button with a smart key. It also has ABS with EBD along with airbags for the driver and front passenger.The Hyundai Verna SX (O) matches the competition on the safety front with ABS and EBD and airbags for the driver and front passenger. Hyundai has recently also added side and curtain airbags to the top-end Verna 1.6 SX (O) variant. It has a long features list with electrically adjustable wing mirrors with LED turn indicators, reversing camera and rear parking sensors. In the audio department, it matches the competitors with a four-speaker audio system with tweeters and MP3, aux-in, USB and Bluetooth compatibility and steering-mounted audio controls. On the outside, it gets chrome on the front grille and outside door handles. The top SX (O) petrol and diesel variants also get projector headlamps, automatic headlight control and leather upholstery.

In the mid-size car segment, Hyundai’s Verna continues to be one of the best equipped. The new Honda City also has an equally long features list and it is the only car that comes with an electric sunroof. However, the facelifted Linea's feature list is now good enough to match its rivals. Fiat seems to be playing its cards right with the updated Linea.

An aggressive price, enhanced looks and good amount of equipment could attract buyers to the showroom. Fiat is also ramping up its dealer network and improving its aftersales.